Mobtown Massacre: Alexander Hanson and the Baltimore Newspaper War of 1812 (True Crime)
War, United States history, Politics and government, General non-fiction, True crime
Synthetic audio, Automated braille
Summary
Winner of the 2020 Baltimore History Prize, this is a gripping account of how a Federalist editor risked his life to defend his anti-war views. With a bitterly divided nation plunged into the War of 1812, Alexander Hanson penned… an anti-war editorial that provoked a violent standoff that crippled the city of Baltimore and left Hanson beaten within an inch of his life. This little-known episode in American history—complete with a midnight jailbreak, bloodthirsty mobs and unspeakable acts of torture—helped shape the course of war, the Federalist Party and the nation&’s very notion of the freedom of the press. Josh Cutler&’s history of the Mobtown Massacre offers a lesson in liberty that reverberates today. &“A compelling story that&’s as timely today as it was two centuries ago.&” —Congressman William R. Keating &“A remarkably vivid, engaging and very readable account of a brief but major event in Baltimore history . . . which reflected the sharp political divisiveness of the time at the start of the War of 1812, and had important implications for freedom of the press and the war itself.&”—Charles Markell, board member, Baltimore City Historical Society &“A timely and scholarly examination of one man&’s struggle for freedom of the press.&”—Fred Dorsey, Howard County, MD historian &“Cutler&’s book tells not only of politics of that era and the controversy of a war that ultimately led to the burning of the White House and the writing of &‘The Star-Spangled Banner&’ by Francis Scott Key, but also how it challenged America&’s devotion to a free press.&” —The Baltimore Sun